In today's Des Moines Register, there's a story about how Iowa's republican senator, Chuck Grassley, chided higher education institutions into using more of their endowment funds to pay for tuition for struggling students. It seems that they were listening, as Yale has agreed to help "struggling" families making "as little" as $180,000 per year.
Excuse me, but since when are families making $180,000 dollars per year "struggling?" And, if a family can't afford to send their student to Yale, there are a lot of other fine institutions that charge quite a bit less.
The real crisis in education in this country is the lack of federally backed student loans for every student. Instead, our government has thrown families and their students to the "wolves," banks across the country who could give a crap less if a student came out of state college with a $100,000 debt behind their name. You see, a high student loan debt hanging around your neck almost guarantees a credit card customer who will soon being paying of staggering debt at 27% interest.
The combination of student loan debt and credit card debt effectively defers the dreams of many young people, strapping them down and preventing them from reaching their full potential.
One of my political heroes, Ted Kennedy, has worked his career to help young people afford college by proposing funding for a number of very effective programs targeted to reach low and middle income students. No offense, Senator Grassley, but I think it's more critical to target funding to these students who have little choice about loan financing. To his credit, Iowa's own Senator Tom Harkin is a leader on this issue as well.
In addition to controlling tuition increases, offering low-interest, government-sponsored loans is the surest way to guarantee the workforce that we desperately need to replace the retiring baby boomers.
So, thanks for looking out for Yale students, Chuck. While you're at it, can you look out for me and my kids, too?
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I am sorry to have to be the one to advise you of this, but the REAL crisis in Education in this Country is the LACK OF THINKING!!! You really think that "we, the People" should be paying for little Johnny to "go to school" AND college??? We have consistently dropped the educational benefits of HIGH SCHOOL to levels that would make an elementary school student in 1898 seem like a college graduate now, and the requirements of insurance companies and lack of tort reform have created an atmosphere of paranoia in schools that would rival ANY that Ripley traversed in the Alien movie series!

We, as a Society, have created the "adult adolescent" who continues to sponge off Mom and Dad, well into his or her thirties, and they still consider themselves "kids." And it's due to non-thinking idiots who want to "be fair" to everybody. Try reading Ayn Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED past the 7th chapter (gee, it may be BORING to read through the "set-up" but the "pay-off" SHOULD change your THOUGHT process so that you can actually think for YOURSELF from then on). As a school teacher, this should be a no-brainer for you to accomplish... but I bet you $100 you won't finish it once you reach your "character of emulation"-- which I suspect to be James Taggart.

Ignorance is bliss... so why aren't YOU happy?

Those people in control are just concerned for our good and well being, they know that knowledge is poison to slaves!

__________________
In times of universal deceit the love of truth becomes the most radical of all ideologies.

Still a Caveman? - Your Mind is Controlled - The Brainwashing of the West - Your thoughts are not your own

Veritax Vox Liberabit

if they were concerned about our good and well being they would stop dumbing down the schools, seeing as how smarter people have a better chance of being successful. its kind of a no-brainer...

If students have the determination to make A's in high school they will be given a free higher education. Where is the unfairness claim?

__________________
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread." - Alexander Pope

I think you are just reiterating Skepticos' earlier comment.

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"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread." - Alexander Pope

America sliding into socialism... That would be nice to see

By the way, most of European nations (if not all) have the same rules.

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Devil and the deep blue sea behind me
Vanish in the air, you'll never find me
I will turn your face to alabaster
Then you will find your servant is your master

Wrapped around your finger - The Police

europe is not something to look at as an example to follow..

The best way to go about solving our education problem is amping up our miserably failing High School system. It needs to play more like European countries, where students can pick their schools. Why should students be forced to go to crappy schools they don't like at our expense? Schools are paid an average of $8,000 + a year per student. If that money was attached to the students, who could go anywhere they want, being a good school would actually matter. $8,000 could send kids to superior private and catholic schools, and hyper-competitive schools would spring up to fit all sorts of needs, whether it be for the disabled, athletic, gifted, art-oriented, ect. If we got our system to be good enough, most students could end their education at high school and get jobs, just like in Japan.